Hello! I'm looking for information on this ring. So I believe this must be a medallion of some sort because the back side of it appears to be flat. I asked about it on the metal detecting subreddit and someone suggested it might be related to Sol Invictus. I don't have too much information on it. Was purchased years ago from an estate sale and all I remember was the guy giving a vague description that it had been dug up (no info on where). It has some difficult to read white lettering written on the inside (clearly written relatively recently) which to me resembles some sort of inventory number from an archaeological dig (I think it says SW 3542). It is non-magnetic so I assume brass or copper perhaps. Was wondering if any of you had seen anything like it before, I took it into a coin shop but they suggested I look on the internet because they weren't familiar with it. I haven't been able to find another quite like it but would love some guidance. Value doesn't matter to me because I don't intend to sell but I'd like to know the history.
🔎 UNIDENTIFIED Please help identify this ring
- Thread starter Wmvi
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- identify ring sol invictus
Florida Finder
Bronze Member
Wish I could help. It’s a beauty. Congratulations
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Doubter in MD
Bronze Member
I think "Sol Invictus" is probably on the right track.
From Wikipedia:
"
Sol Invictus (Classical Latin: [s̠oːl ɪnˈwɪk.t̪ʊs̠], "Unconquered Sun"), sometimes known as Helios, was long considered to be the official sun god of the later Roman Empire. In recent years, however, the scholarly community has become divided on Sol between traditionalists and a growing group of revisionists.[2]
In the traditional view, Sol Invictus was the second of two entirely different sun gods in Rome. The first of these, Sol Indiges, or Sol, was an early Roman deity of minor importance whose cult had petered out by the first century AD. Sol Invictus, on the other hand, was a Syrian sun god whose cult was first promoted in Rome under Elagabalus, without success. Some fifty years later, on 25 December AD 274, the Roman emperor Aurelian did succeed to establish the cult of Sol Invictus as an official religion, alongside the traditional Roman cults.
Although the Syrian origin of Sol Invictus is undisputed in the traditional view, there has never been consensus on which Syrian solar deity he was: Some scholars opt for the sky god of Emesa, Elagabalus,[3] while others prefer Malakbel of Palmyra.[4][5] There was general agreement that, from Aurelian to Constantine I, Sol was of supreme importance, until Constantine abandoned Sol in favor of Christianity.[a] The last inscription referring to Sol Invictus dates to AD 387,[6] and there were enough devotees in the fifth century that the Christian theologian Augustine found it necessary to preach against them.[7]
In the revisionist view, there was only one cult of the Sun God in Rome, continuous from the monarchy to the end of antiquity. This was a Roman god who was simply called Sol. There were at least three temples of the Sun god in Rome, all active during the Empire and all dating from the earlier Republic.[8] They claim that there was never a separate solar deity named Sol Invictus.[9][10][11]"
From Wikipedia:
"
Sol Invictus (Classical Latin: [s̠oːl ɪnˈwɪk.t̪ʊs̠], "Unconquered Sun"), sometimes known as Helios, was long considered to be the official sun god of the later Roman Empire. In recent years, however, the scholarly community has become divided on Sol between traditionalists and a growing group of revisionists.[2]
In the traditional view, Sol Invictus was the second of two entirely different sun gods in Rome. The first of these, Sol Indiges, or Sol, was an early Roman deity of minor importance whose cult had petered out by the first century AD. Sol Invictus, on the other hand, was a Syrian sun god whose cult was first promoted in Rome under Elagabalus, without success. Some fifty years later, on 25 December AD 274, the Roman emperor Aurelian did succeed to establish the cult of Sol Invictus as an official religion, alongside the traditional Roman cults.
Although the Syrian origin of Sol Invictus is undisputed in the traditional view, there has never been consensus on which Syrian solar deity he was: Some scholars opt for the sky god of Emesa, Elagabalus,[3] while others prefer Malakbel of Palmyra.[4][5] There was general agreement that, from Aurelian to Constantine I, Sol was of supreme importance, until Constantine abandoned Sol in favor of Christianity.[a] The last inscription referring to Sol Invictus dates to AD 387,[6] and there were enough devotees in the fifth century that the Christian theologian Augustine found it necessary to preach against them.[7]
In the revisionist view, there was only one cult of the Sun God in Rome, continuous from the monarchy to the end of antiquity. This was a Roman god who was simply called Sol. There were at least three temples of the Sun god in Rome, all active during the Empire and all dating from the earlier Republic.[8] They claim that there was never a separate solar deity named Sol Invictus.[9][10][11]"
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traveller777
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- Aug 20, 2017
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GoldieLocks
Bronze Member
Looks kind of like the Statue of Liberty. I think this is it! see:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/354080370730?hash=item5270d5b02a:g:GcQAAOSwOk5ikN-M
https://www.ebay.com/itm/354080370730?hash=item5270d5b02a:g:GcQAAOSwOk5ikN-M
Last edited:
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- Aug 19, 2014
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Ancient ring... IMO.
Silver and bronze.
Great score... well done... do not clean or sell until definitively pinned down.
Silver and bronze.
Great score... well done... do not clean or sell until definitively pinned down.
Upvote
2
Red-Coat
Gold Member
Welcome to Tnet.
It's a lovely old ring.
My feeling is that it is a depiction of Sol. As a pagan God, the importance of Sol declined in the Roman Empire after it began to favour Christianity and very much declined with the adoption of Christianity as an official religion; particularly by the mid-4th century after the reign of Constantine the Great. Under Constantine, 'Dies Solis', the day of the sun, (ie Sunday) was decreed as the Roman day of rest in AD 321 not long before Christianity became the official religion.
The ring looks ancient, but not as old as 4th Century. The transition happened rather more slowly in the Eastern (Byzantine) part of the Empire and the veneration of Sol Invictus as a religious cult continued at least until the 6th Century. My guess is that it might be Byzantine and from around that period.
It's a lovely old ring.
My feeling is that it is a depiction of Sol. As a pagan God, the importance of Sol declined in the Roman Empire after it began to favour Christianity and very much declined with the adoption of Christianity as an official religion; particularly by the mid-4th century after the reign of Constantine the Great. Under Constantine, 'Dies Solis', the day of the sun, (ie Sunday) was decreed as the Roman day of rest in AD 321 not long before Christianity became the official religion.
The ring looks ancient, but not as old as 4th Century. The transition happened rather more slowly in the Eastern (Byzantine) part of the Empire and the veneration of Sol Invictus as a religious cult continued at least until the 6th Century. My guess is that it might be Byzantine and from around that period.
Upvote
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